Whether games are being adapted into would-be Hollywood blockbusters or making the jump to comics, the adapters frequently make the mistake of choosing brand recognition and name value over all else. Granted, this does make financial sense. Why waste your time and energy on a B-list game franchise when the God of Wars and Modern Warfares of the gaming industry are ready and waiting to generate piles of cash?

The problem is that these games don't always provide fodder for worthwhile comic book spinoffs. Take Modern Warfare 2, for instance. Few would argue that the Call of Duty games offer complex storylines or deep characterization. The games are focused on gigantic action set-pieces. Any good videogame comic needs to be able to offer a compelling story to make up for the loss of interactivity. Too many of these books simply fail to engage the reader.

Both God of War and Modern Warfare 2 are games that emphasize action over plot. This works well when the gamer holds the controller and is able to mow down enemies by the hundreds. That same fun doesn't translate well when the gamer is asked to passively read about Kratos dismembering gods. Plenty of gamers know how annoying it is to watch over the shoulders of their friends instead of playing a game themselves. Too often, that's exactly what videogame comics ask of their readers.

Game properties should be selected based on their storytelling potential rather than mere story potential. To reiterate an earlier point, the franchise in question needs to have a rich mythology worth exploring. There needs to be less of an emphasis on action because, frankly, action rarely conveys itself as well on a printed page as it does in full, interactive glory on a TV screen. Instead of repeatedly adapting first-person shooters and fighting games, why can't publishers focus on more cerebral franchises? Why isn't there a Chrono Trigger comic or a Shadow of the Colossus comic or a Monkey Island comic? These franchises might not be at the forefront of the industry at the moment, but they offer plenty more immediate and obvious storytelling potential.

There will always be exceptions to the rule. UDON's Street Fighter comics are often entertaining despite being based on a fighting game. Good creators can make the most of any concept. However, with the countless videogame franchises available there's no reason for them to struggle as much as they do.

Here we come to the flip side of the previous category. It rarely ends well when a videogame comic focuses all of its energy on replicating the action and violence of a videogame. But if the comic completely ignores the elements that make a game memorable and popular in the first place, it's really no better off.

This is one of our most common complaints with Wildstorm's Modern Warfare 2: Ghost comic. The book focuses on the past of Ghost, an NPC ally in the game. The plot involves Mexican drug cartels, psychological torture, father/son conflicts, and just about everything but soldiers blowing holes in the bad guys. Too often Modern Warfare 2: Ghost reads nothing like the game that inspired it. The same complaint applies to Wildstorm's Resident Evil book. Very little in the first issue evokes the tone or style of the games. Why then should RE fans feel compelled to continue any further? In either case, the book only serves as a videogame tie-in because the titles claim as much.

Comics can make the mistake of veering too far in the opposite direction as well. A slavish adaptation of the source material is rarely the best approach either. IDW's Metal Gear Solid comics are easily some of the most faithful videogame adaptations you'll find on the market. The problem is that everything from the games makes the cut. Conflicts in the comic involve Solid Snake hunting for key-cards to access new areas. Mundane fetch quests are often a necessity in games, but they should never become a part of the comics too.

Good videogame comics manage to strike a balance between capturing the fun and familiar trappings of a game while also exploring new avenues and stories. Look at it this way – Star Wars readers expect lightsabers and epic space battles in their comics. They don't need to see Luke Skywalker battling Darth Vader in each and every one of them.

In a lot of ways this covers the same territory as our discussion of proper creative teams. However, art in videogames deserves special mention because it tends to be such a common and peculiar problem. Comics are a visual medium, and too often videogame projects completely fail at providing visuals that tell a story and tell it well.

One common problem with videogame comics is that artists go out of their way to replicate the feel of 3D polygon graphics. Books like Dante's Inferno and Silent Hill: Sinner's Reward feature CG rendered characters as opposed to traditional hand-drawn figures. It's an interesting attempt to bridge media, but it's one that rarely works well. CG characters require incredible amounts of time and care before they can display the level of emotion as a good pencil drawing. These books don't offer that level of quality. If we want our Silent Hill comic to look like an early-era PS2 game, we'll just pop Silent Hill 2 back into our system.

Another annoyingly common trend is to exaggerate the visuals in videogame comics to almost abstract levels. Again, Dante's Inferno and Silent Hill: Sinner's Rewards are examples of this. Books like these abandon traditional panel borders, slather the page in hazy paint washes, and generally obscure the comic's ability to present a coherent story. At least in the case of Silent Hill, foggy landscapes and surreal visuals are par for the course. What excuse do books like God of War and Dante's Inferno have? Metal Gear Solid is another culprit. We appreciate the attempt of the comics to replicate Yoji Shinkawa's iconic watercolor character designs from Metal Gear Solid. However, as with all the other books mentioned, this emphasis on style over substance harms the book in the end.

Not all videogame comics take these dubious artistic approaches, but far too many are entirely underwhelming in the visual department. As always, the best videogame comics are the ones that deliver in this regard. Marvel's Halo comics are very presentable, particularly Halo: Uprising, which features Alex Maleev's artwork. A significant reason for the creative success of UDON's Street Fighter comics is that most do an excellent job of capturing the anime-inspired look of the games. Top Cow's long-running Tomb Raider series also deserves mention here. That series featured a variety of top artists during its run, including Adam Hughes, Billy Tan, and Michael Turner. If publishers want their videogame comics to truly succeed, they need to be willing to put some serious artistic muscle behind them.

The frequency of delays with comic books is a bit alarming. Not a month goes by where some high-profile release is pushed out of its intended month to a time unknown. Granted, this isn't something that's just the fault of game-based comics. In fact the biggest shipping problems come from major superhero events and other big name titles. But delays with gaming books are particularly maddening for two reasons. First, a delay almost guarantees the resolution of the print story will miss the intended release of the game. Since most comics tend to operate in some area prior to a game's release (ie between Gears of War 1 and Gears of War 2), having that book hit after the game is released almost invalidates the reason for its existence. Why would anyone want to read a short, almost-insignificant prequel to something after they already know how it's resolved?

Our other problem with gaming comics being delayed is the implication of said delays. These aren't products that have been serialized for forty years, that integrate with dozens of other titles into one massive web of continuity. These are singular titles based on games that are being planned and developed for years. And yet somehow these game-based books always feel rushed, from their timetable to their creative teams to their ultimate quality. Why isn't more thought being put into this? Why do the comics feel like afterthoughts versus a genuinely meaningful component of a franchise's lore? Do these developers and publishers not realize they're simply neglecting the same dedicated fans that turn out for the games, the same ones that spent hours on Twitter and message boards extolling the virtues of said titles? It's a little sad to think that the interest in doing these books right isn't there, which then in turn leads to sporadic and shoddy releases.

We know you guys don't find videogame comic books nearly as interesting as some of the other "genres" out there. We see it in the traffic the articles generate and the comments you leave behind. So we're curious – what do you think of game-based comics? Are there some you enjoy? Are there some you particularly hate? Why do you love or hate them? Rest assured that the people who make these books read these articles and replies, whether you realize it or not. Make a difference and chat away in our comments.